Text from the plaque:
THE BERCZY SETTLEMENT 1794
In November, 1794, William von Moll Berczy (1744-1813), colonizer, road builder, architect and painter, brought the first settlers to Markham Township. This group had originally emigrated from Germany to New York State, but moved to Upper Canada in 1794 and acquired extensive lands in this area. In 1795-96 sickness and famine reduced their numbers, but those who remained or returned to their holdings laid the foundation for the rapid development of Markham Township after 1800. Berczy, having exhausting his resources on the settlement, went to Montreal in 1805 where he achieved some success as a portrait painter.
William 'Moll' Berczy
Johann Albrecht Ulrich Moll, alias William Berczy or William Moll Berczy, was born in Wallerstein, Ries, Bavaria, Germany in 1744. He studied art in Vienna and Jena and had an adventurous life in eastern Europe.
In 1791, Berczy was in London and heard that a group led by Sir William Pulteney had purchased one and one quarter million acres of land in the Genesee area of New York State, just south of what is now Rochester. Berczy and others became interested and could see the potential for profit by bringing hard working settlers from Germany to the tract. After much difficulty, two vessels, the "Catharina" and the "Heinrich and Georg" with Berczy, his wife and family and some 220 settlers left Altona, Hamburg in May and June of 1792 for Philadelphia.
From Philadelphia, the settlers made their way to the Genesee lands and attempted to settle in and get title to their land. They opened the first inland north-south road between Williamsport and Painted Post -- known as Williamson Road and currently Route 15. However, the arrangement was not satisfactory to Berczy and his settlers so some 60 families followed him to Upper Canada in 1794 to take advantage of free land offered by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe. Most of these families settled on land in Markham Township by late 1794 after a brief stop over in York (Toronto). The men helped clear Yonge Street northward as part payment for the land.
Berczy remained in the Markham-Toronto area until about 1798, supervising the supply of rations to the settlers as there was a crop failure and much famine in 1795. During this time he also designed many of the commercial buildings in York. He continually pleaded with the government, both in York and London, England to turn over the remainder of the 64,000 acres of land Simcoe had promised him.
He moved to Quebec, and later Montreal, and supported his family and attempted to repay some of his debts, by painting portraits. In 1802, he returned to York and attempted to salvage what he could from his enterprise, alienating many of his settlers in the process. It was at this time he painted the portrait of Joseph Brant that now hangs in the National Gallery in Ottawa.
His later years were not good ones for Berczy and he died on a trip to New York City. It is reported that he was buried in New York in the Old Trinity Graveyard on February 5, 1813.
Information taken from: Visit